Vancouver city council has unanimously approved an emergency fund of up to $30 million to help hundreds of homeless residents.The money will be used to buy or lease vacant hotels, apartments and single-room occupancy buildings and to provide other services to support as many as 750 people who lack safe shelter.Many of the potential sites will need renovation, so council also approved plans for the immediate use of a city-owned motel and a hostel on Vancouver's west side.It's expected that residents of an unsanctioned encampment in Strathcona Park will begin moving to those sites soon.The deci

British Columbia's provincial health officer is urging businesses to ensure they are in compliance with health and safety standards to protect employees from COVID-19. Dr. Bonnie Henry says public health teams would provide guidance if a worker contracts the illness but it's up to businesses to make it easy for anyone who is unwell to stay away. Dr. Henry says employees should be screened daily, tracked for where they're working and who they're with, and meet virtually as much as possible. She says businesses should contact WorkSafeBC with any concerns about what is expected of them and get g

The federal and Ontario governments are each chipping in more than $250 million to mass produce electric vehicles and the batteries that power them at Ford Motor Co.'s plant in Oakville, Ont. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Ontario Premier Doug Ford are to announce the joint investment today. It is part of a three-year agreement worth nearly $2 billion that was announced last month between the automaker and Unifor, the union that represents autoworkers in Canada.The Oakville plant employs 3,400 Ford workers and Unifor president Jerry Dias has said retooling the plant to produce electric veh

Environment Minister Jonathan Wilkinson says six single-use plastic items that aren't easily recycled and already have more environmentally friendly alternatives will be the first to go under Canada's new restrictions on plastics. That means the end of next year will be the end of the road for plastic straws, stir sticks, carry-out bags, cutlery, dishes and takeout containers and six-pack rings for cans and bottles. Wilkinson says many of the items that aren't on that list, such as plastic bottles, will be getting new standards to require them to contain a minimum amount of recycled material

The Punjabi translation of new farm bills passed by the Indian Parliament can be read by clicking on the following link: Punjabi translation of the new farm bills

A state funeral for former Liberal prime minister John Turner is underway in downtown Toronto.About 170 invited guests are in attendance, including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Toronto Mayor John Tory, and federal minister Carolyn Bennett.Attendees are spaced out in the pews at the recently renovated St. Michael's Cathedral Basilica to maintain physical distancing.Organizers limited the guest list in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.Turner died at age 91 on Sept. 19.He had spent decades in politics, serving as solicitor general and justice and finance ministers before his brief stint as prime

An election promise by British Columbia Liberal Leader Andrew Wilkinson to intervene in the city of Surrey's transition away from the RCMP is drawing fire. Wilkinson has promised an elected Liberal government would freeze the transition to the independent police force and hold a referendum to put the final choice in the hands of Surrey residents. Surrey Mayor Doug McCallum was elected on the promise of changing the police force and says in a statement he's appalled the Liberal leader would stoop to this level of desperation to garner votes. McCallum says the B.C. Liberals decision to interfer

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is offering his family's best wishes to U.S. President Donald Trump and the first lady. Trudeau says he and his wife, Sophie Gregoire Trudeau, hope the president and Melania Trump recover fully from COVID-19. Trump announced early this morning that both he and his wife have tested positive for the coronavirus. Gregoire Trudeau tested positive for COVID-19 in March after returning from a trip to England. She recovered within weeks, and the prime minister never contracted the virus. But Trudeau points out it's the same news many Canadians are getting. British Prime

US President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump have tested positive for COVID-19.Trump tweeted the update early this morning. Trump's positive test comes just hours after the White House announced that senior aide Hope Hicks came down with the virus after travelling with the president several times this week.It also comes after he spent much of the last year downplaying the threat of COVID-19.Trump's White House doctor has issued a statement saying the president will continue carrying out his duties ``without disruption'' after contracting COVID-19.Dr. Sean Conley, the physician to th